How do I fix this nail?

[AinmÁlainn]

It's been at least 10 years since I tore a teeny strip off the top of my nail. I don't remember how I did it, but it was about 1mm wide and went from the tip of the nail to the cuticle. Every time it grew, the little nick was there so it would catch and tear again. No amount of buffing or filing helped. I'm not sure how, but eventually it grew so thay only one side of the ridge tore. So now it's like this (pic attached). I've been keeping it really short and well filed and buffed and I thought I had it finally sorted, but no, it lifted again yesterday and now I'm back to square 1. It's not sore but it catches on everything and is going to tear if I don't cut it right down again (this is the longest it's been in years). Over the years I've tried super glue, various home gel varnishes, some sort of wrap that a nail technician put on it and nothing has worked. Does anyone here have a Christmas miracle for me?

Get an acrylic tip and allow it to grow out underneath?

Using nail polish will help keep it together, looks like it doesn't have far to grow out now. If the original injury damaged the part where it grows from it may never grow back 100% how it used to be

I think that was what I got before VanCleefArpels but it didn't work. Might be worth another try. I hate the feeling of anything on my nails (even nail polish) but I'd suck it up to get rid of this after so long! I presume a nail salon will do just one nail for me?

The problem with growing it out IndianSummer78 is that it is breaking from the tip down so it never actually grows out...I kept it really short for the last year to try to stop it splitting again but as soon as it gets past my nail bed it's just a matter of time.

Either way, I'll have to do something with it before it catches and a quarter of my nail is ripped off. 😟

Nail polish adds another few layers (base coat, 2x colour coats, top coat) and these extra layers are like a suit of armour for your nails. So when you knock them or catch them they're a lot less likely to split. You keep them painted, touching up chips daily, removing it all and starting from scratch once a week.

Wear gloves for everything except basic daily living eg if you're gardening, washing up or cleaning wear gloves. This protects the nail polish and by default also the nail.

If it's just that white part I can see on the pic it should have totally grown out in two months at the most. Finish the top coat by going horizontally across your nail tips and on this nail brush the polish onto the underneath too. It will help seal the rip and stop there being anything for stray threads to catch into.

If you don't want anything on the nails your other option is to wear two plasters one wrapped over the top and one wrapped round to secure it in place, constantly including in bed, until its grown out. I'd find this more of a nuisance than nail polish and more expensive given how it's going to come off every time you get your hands wet.

Have you tried rubbing in a nail oil daily?

No, I haven't MistyRock. Would that strengthen the nail to stop it splitting in the future? Can you recommend something? I've had to cut the nail right back today as despite super glue and a plaster it split more and was about to tear off if I'd caught it on anything.

I'd think something like this might help:

www.boots.com/sally-hansen-strengthener

Every so often use this:

www.boots.com/sally-hansen-maximum-growth-10049182

If it's been like this for 10 years it's not that you just keep damaging it from the top each time, but rather you have damaged the part where the new nail from and the nail is weaker? (Think this is the matrix?)

What happens if you cut it as low as possible? Past the with free edge land then a bit further, past the little blip? Does is just grow flawed again

Do you moisturise it loads? My chiropodist told me to do that with my toenails and DH had a fingernail problem which he almost cured by moisturising it every day and/or putting cuticle oil on.

I've tried strengthening nail varnishes before without any luck. Maybe I need to do it for longer. I moisturise my hands a good bit but not specifically my nails.

Yes, mincepiepie, no matter how long I keep it as short as possible (I've currently cut it so there's no white at all on the nail), it breaks/tears again really easily. I sometimes manage a few months without it breaking by doing this, but it always breaks in the end.

This is how short I cut it yesterday and you can see where the nick is. I'll cut it again when it gets long enough and hope it's before it splits further again.

Lay off the nail oils, hand creams and strengtheners and goodness knows whats. Keep it short until it grows out.

I had a toe nail that was split for about 20 years! I tried all sorts over the years, it just kept splitting as it grew.
A few months ago I got Sally Hansen Double Duty base & top coat. I actually just got it to use as a clear coat rather than a base coat. It seems to be fixing the nail though! I've been removing and repainting every week or so to keep it fresh and - touch wood - my nail is growing and staying intact for the first time in decades.

IBX nail repair would bond the layers of keratin together but it's salon only to prevent allergies. The nail bed is damaged and cant grow enough nail in that part.

I had a tiny split for years and oils, creams etc didn't do much.
The Sally Hansen nail strengthener helped a lot. I just put it on the nick, not all over the nail so it stopped it catching.
I'm now on iron tablets and touch wood my nail seems to have stopped splitting.

Looking at the shape of it (natural, slightly rounded) and where the ridge is growing that keeps catching, it'll help if you also change the shape of the nail. As it grows file it straight across horizontal (get a glass nail file they're much more gentle than regular ones and very effective at leaving no roughness to catch on anything) and over time the nail will become square ended. It'll look a little weird in the between stage with a flat top and round edges. Barely touch the corners to round them, when it grows enough to have corners that is, leave them as corners and it's them that'll be most likely to catch on anything and that will help to take the pressure off the damaged part making it less likely to split again.

It could just be that it's growing a ridge and that's what's repeatedly catching and ripping, but if you have damaged the nail from the growth point and it's growing weaker you may need to keep it painted forever as maintenance. Once there's no split left and it's squared up you shouldn't need 4 layers of polish to hold it firm and seal the split, a couple of layers of clear polish will be enough, so you'll be able to leave the rest of your nails without polish as you don't like it. I use Sally Hansen base/top coat too, it's good.